The federal government has been embroiled in a battle regarding last year’s health care reform. One of the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and one that is most indignantly contested, calls for states to establish a health insurance exchange. Thus far, the federal government has provided states with funding to help them toward this goal. Republicans, many of whom oppose the health care overhaul, have been trying to bar the government from providing money to states for, what they say, is an unconstitutional measure. Late Wednesday, the U.S.…
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Health care reform deadlines are forcing states to make a move
The Department of Health and Human Services recently established a deadline one of the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The health care reform law mandates states to create health insurance exchanges by 2014, and the HHS says they must show they have made ample progress toward this goal by 2012. Should states fail to adhere to these deadlines; the federal government will take charge of the exchange and establish one itself. The looming deadline has left many states scrambling to get their programs off the ground, and has…
Read MoreOregon struggles with agreeing on health care reform mandates
Lawmakers in Oregon are getting ready to convene and approve the acceptance of a federal grant that would help the state establish their own health insurance exchange. The $48 million grant is being offered by the Department of Health and Human Services as part of its initiative to help states handle the cost of constructing exchanges. There are some in the state’s Senate that are leery of accepting government money for the program, as it is a part of the hotly contested health care reform. The Affordable Care Act mandates…
Read MoreHealth Care Reform Timeline – The clock is ticking!
Many states are currently locked in the legislative throes of establishing a new health insurance exchange, as mandated by the Affordable Care Act. While states are not required to have a fully functioning exchange in place until 2014, the government has issued a mid-term deadline. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, says that the deadline is slated for some point in 2012. If states cannot show that they have made sufficient progress in establishing exchanges the federal government will take over the plan. Several states…
Read MoreStates may be on their own for health insurance exchange costs
Health care has been a hot issue for several years now. Since the days when the Affordable Care Act was being championed by the Obama Administration until now, there has been shortage of controversy surrounding health insurance. Now, the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce has approved a number of bills that is likely to incite backlash from supporters of the health care reform law. One bill in particular targets health insurance exchanges. Health insurance exchanges are one of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Their primary…
Read MoreWisconsin at the forefront of democrat healthcare reform requirements
Wisconsin seems to be ahead of the curve when it comes to instituting health insurance exchanges. The state has recently completed the infrastructure necessary for supporting the system in spite of stiff opposition from Governor Scott Walker. Walker has denounced the exchanges as an overstepping of the federal governments boundaries, a notion shared amongst several Republicans that have opposed the health care reform law. According to the law, states are tasked with setting up a self-sustaining exchange program by 2014. If they fail to do so, the federal government will…
Read MoreUncertain future for health insurance brokers
A growing number of insurance brokers are concerned for their livelihoods in light of the new health care reform law passed last year. They are urging Congress and state legislators to establish protections that will guarantee agents a role in the emerging online marketplaces that will accompany state health insurance exchange programs. The exchanges are a mandatory provision of the Affordable Care Act and each state must establish their own exchange by 2014. “The brokers are nervous,” said Sabrina Corlette, a professor at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute who has…
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